Oregon Government Ethics Commission

Following an ongoing dispute over public records sought by The Prineville Review from Crook County since November, Oregon’s Public Records Advocate has raised serious concerns about the county’s handling of public records requests—both generally and in relation to this publication’s outstanding requests.

A Crook County water district is facing severe financial and governance issues following allegations of misappropriating thousands of dollars, general mismanagement, and potential ethics violations by its elected board—nearly half of which has now resigned.

Two newly appointed Crook County School District Board members were sworn into office during a special meeting late last week after being appointed to the vacant positions by the existing board. The appointments, which cover Zone 1 and Zone 3, follow the resignations in recent months by Jessica Brumble and Cheyanne Edgerly.

The Crook County School District has finally released an unredacted version of its written meeting minutes to the Prineville Review from its December 2024 illegal executive session over discussions of a complaint against Athletic Director Rob Bonner.

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously on Friday to initiate a full and formal investigation following a preliminary review into two Crook County Cemetery District officials over reported violations of public meetings laws last summer.

Following a multi-month and ongoing investigation by the Prineville Review, an appointed member of the Crook County Natural Resource Advisory Committee (NRAC) is facing questions related to Oregon ethics laws after his private contracts with the U.S.

Just before tonight's Crook County School District Board's public meeting, the board released a statement reaffirming that the board's restriction on comments regarding individual staff members is not a violation of the First Amendment, at least within Oregon.

Amid several issues of controversy surrounding the Crook County School District, its' superintendent, as well as the district's elected board, Board Member Cheyenne Edgerly resigned effective yesterday, according to a statement provided to the Prineville Review this afternoon.

The Prineville Review discovered earlier this week that that the Crook County School Board likely violated provisions of Oregon's public meetings law with its use of executive sessions, potentially since last year, including during another executive session that took place on Monday.

Prineville, Ore. - Shortly following our previous story, the Crook County Cemetery District (CCCD) Board held a public meeting Nov. 21st and announced it...